Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Shigeno Goro is now a senior high school student and he makes a fresh start a Seishu High. One problem: not only does Seishu not have a baseball club, it only has 10 or so guys attending it (since it was recently converted from an all-girl school). Shigeno takes this ragtag group of newbies and hidden talents, and this new team tries to make it all the way to Koshien, battling old rivals along the way.

What's good about it?

Oh the passion of youth! This is sports anime incarnate. You either hate it or love it. I'm in the love it category. Most characters from previous seasons make appearances, albeit much shorter ones. Full of willpowed drama.

What's bad about it?

This is probably the weakest of the 3 seasons so far. Shigeno (and the series) kind of starts over from scratch after leaving Kaido. He starts a NEW team with a full cast of NEW characters, but since the show has been about Shigeno's progress, this seems counter-intuitive and didn't sit well with me. The new characters are not great either. The season ended on a climatic note so I'm hoping there's another season left in the series. Major should've focused a little more on non-baseball matters. Namely, school and social interactions (get a girlfriend!).

Final Verdict

I'm a sports anime junkie so I'll never turn down a season of Major, but I know I won't be watching Major 3 a second time. In retrospect, season 3 will be remembered as the filler season in between Shigeno playing with Kaido and going to America to play (if there's a fourth season). Probably an above average sports series(mostly since most are not very good), though well below it's previous efforts.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Story of a brilliant young student who is given the power to control people by a mysterious girl. He creates a double life and uses this power to create a revolution against the conquering power and have revenge for his sad past, all the while playing the part of the honest student. As the world changes around him, he struggles to keep control of various events, while fighting to remain true to his ideals.

What's good about it?

Great storytelling! The plot moves at breakneck speed and doesn't stop till the last episode. Though this has some Gundam elements (mostly the mechas and political feel), this feels a lot more like Death Note to me, almost oddly so.

What's bad about it?

It feels like all these characters are recycled from other series. Lelouch, the star of the series, shares many characteristics with Yagami Light from Death Note. Lelouch is different in that, unlike Light, he feels moments of self-doubt and is inherently good.

Final Verdict

One of the top shows of last year, Code Geass will get you keep you hooked till the last episode and leave waiting in torture for season 2. Unlike many such series, characters die, the plot unfolds and once events happen, you feel there is no going back. Since the final episode ends on the mother of all cliffhangers, I find myself struggling to rate a non-concluded series but I'm a reviewer so I'll just have to suck it up.

Bunch of cute Japanese schoolgirls do a bunch of cute japanese schoolgirl things. A formula for success!

What's good about it?

Lucky star doesn't take this Moe-moment filled schoolgirl anime halfway. It shamelessly includes every character stereotype in the genre. The naive and innocent glasses-wearing beauty(pink-haired featured below), the indulgent and lazy girl(yellow-ribbon), her tsundere sister, the naive sickly little girl, her tall, silent, cool, insecure friend, the foreign exhange student who knows waaaay to much about otaku culture, the irresponsible teacher, the mangaka with a dirty mind. The star of the show is Konata(blue hair), a hardcore otaku, well-versed in manga, anime, collectible figurines and cards(among others), ero-games and MMORPGs. Charming!

What's bad about it?

As you may expect from stereotypic characters, many of the character interactions and jokes are kind of repetitive and predictable.

Final Verdict

Lucky Star is a must-see for any anime junkie. Your level of appreciation for many of the references and themes can be an important factor in how much you enjoy this series. Those that are clueless about otaku culture will repeatedly find themselves frustrated and are in danger of not "getting it". Luckily for you, if you're reading this blog, you know enough about these themes to guarantee a fun ride.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

The story of a talented man-for-hire who works in the underground world with his inexperienced partner.

What's good about it?

For a series that began 20 years ago, City Hunter remains quite watchable. Many of the story arcs are well written and most of the characters have their charm. City Hunter is a great indicator of the time it aired, both in its anime style and cultural referencing. The mood of urban Japan in the 80's is very well-represented.

What's bad about it?

Running 150 episodes long with half a dozen movies, most of the episodes are filler episodes. Character interactions are incredibly predictable and repetitive. The good guys (and the bad guys) always seem to make the same mistakes (especially Kaori). The story arcs range from 1 to 3 episodes in length and while the non-filler ones (the vast minority of the arcs) are quite worthwhile, the filler arcs are hit and miss with some very tedious ones in there.

Final Verdict

City Hunter could never air today as it stands. The filler hurts but the animation reflects its age and the formula is tired and has been replicated to nausea. Most of the emulation reflects the popularity of the show and it's characters at its conception. Like most retro anime series that were popular in their time, you can only enjoy City Hunter if you can appreciate the impact it had on the way anime is made today without holding it's faults against it.

Monday, October 08, 2007

I've previously reviewed this series, even though I had only watched around half of the series. At the time I believed I had seen enough to review it and gave a harsh enough review. Having placed much of my ire at the number of filler episodes which dominated the first half of the series I was then pleasantly surprised to find them to be completely eliminated form the second. By no stretch is this a "great" series, it sufficiently improved in the latter half to justify me changing its rating.

Previous rating 7.0 ----------------------> Revised review 7.7

I'm taking a break now but expect some more, briefer, reviews in the next 3 days. Here's a list of them so I don't forget.

The tale of a brilliant student, Yagami Light, who finds a Death God's notebook. By writing down a person's name in it, he can kill that person. He decides to enterprise his own brand of justice by killing of criminals in waves. It doesn't take long before the world notices this trend and before the hounds start circling in on his identity, in particular a prodigic world-renowned investigator going simply as "L".

What's good about it?

Plenty! The main characters, especially in the opening half of the series are extremely likable and impressive characters. Their analytical battle of wits really carry the plot and make for addictive watching with many episodes ending in cliffhangers. The animation style is very manga-adapted which is awesome.

What's bad about it?

Just a few points. L's succesor, Near, isn't nearly as engaging as L and the rivalry with Light suffers because of it. Also, the other character's besides the leads are not very perceptive as they seem to just watch and hardly know what's going on half the time. This is partially corrected towards the end as the amount of apparent coincidences becomes obvious, even to them. Though the ending is conclusive and, in most respects, appropriate, I felt there was a plot twist or two too little, definitely less than what we had gotten used to.

Final Verdict

Thoroughly enthralling series which remains high-paced from start to finish. A must-watch no matter what genre of anime you like watching. The criticisms I have are mostly generated by my adoration of the series (I would even bother trying to find faults in some lesser series) and personal tastes and should not be mistaken for fatal flaws. Though I, as I often do, wished to see the vilain win, I don't hold it against the series that he doesn't and neither should you!